Engine.



No. 762,572. PATBIITED JUNE 14, 1904.

c. WL'BBNN.

ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED 00121, 1903. 10 MODEL.

wifgesses Igxegfor UNITED STATES CHARLES IV. BENN,

Patented June 14, 1904.

OF HASKINS, OHIO.

ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Application'filed October 21,1903.

To all whom it put/y concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. BENN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Haskins, in the county of Wood and State of Ohio, haveinvented a new and useful Engine, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in engines, and isadapted particularly for use in connection with gas-engines, where theheat developed during the operation of the engine is such as to addconsiderably to the friction between the periphery of the piston andthe, inner Wall of the cylinder.

The principal object of the invention is to so construct and arrange thepiston and its connections as to relieve the lower portion of the innerWall of the cylinder from the weight of the piston and to this extentreduce the frictional contact between them.

A further object of the invention is to provide an engine in which thepiston is provided with a rod extending through both ends of thecylinder and is supported by a pair of cross-heads that may be readilyadjusted to compensate'for wear-and to maintain the piston in properalinement with the cylinder, so that, especially in the operation oftrunk-pistons, the cylinder will be relieved of the usual lateral thrustdue to the direct connection with the crank-pin.

A further object of the invention is to provide in an engine of thisclass a simple and convenient means of effecting adjustment of thecross-heads without rendering it necessary to stop the engine.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an engine of thistype with means for indicating the exact positions of the cylinder andpiston with respect to each other, so that in case of wear the parts maybe adjusted.

With these and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear morefully, the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangementof parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it beingunderstood that variouschanges in the form, proportions, size, and minordetails of the structure may be made Patent No. 762,572, dated June 14,1904.

Serial No. 177,983. (No model.)

without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the ad vantagesof the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal sectionalelevation of suflicient of an engine to illustrate the application of myinvention thereto. Fig. 2 is a'transverse sectional elevation ofthe sameon the line 22 of Fig. 1, showing the device for indicating thepositions of the piston and its red with respect to the cylinder. Fig. 3is a detail perspective view of the cross-head-adjusting dev1ce.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate correspondingparts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

In engines as ordinarily constructed the weight of the piston restsdirectly on the lower portion of the inner wall of the cylinder, and thewear at this point is much greater than at any other point at which thepiston and cylinder are in frictional contact. This is particularly trueof explosive-engines, where the dry heat developed during the operationof the engine and the deposit of foreign matter due to unconsumed gaseswill increase the wear between the piston and cylinder. In gas-enginesof the usual type, where trunkpistons are commonly used, the lateralthrust on the piston, especially during the working and thecompressionstrokes,will tend to make the wear uneven and render it necessary tofrequently renew or repair the packing or to rebore the cylinder.

In carrying out the present invention the piston is supported within thecylinder in true alinement therewith, its weight being borne by slidingcross-heads arranged at the opposite ends of the cylinder and mounted onad justable guides in order to permit the necessary adjustment of theparts in moving the piston into alinement and to compensate for Wearwithout the necessity of stopping the engine.

In the drawings, 1 indicates the cylinder of a gas-engine, open at thecrank end and provided at its opposite end with a stuffing-box for thepassage of a piston-rod 2, that is of sufficient length to project for aconsiderable distance beyond both ends of the cylinder. On

- plate 6, that may form a part of the frame of the engine, and betweenthe two plates 5 and 6 is introduced a Wedge-plate 7, the upper surfaceof the plate 6 being inclined, so that by longitudinal movement of thewedge-plate 7 theupper plate 5 may rest in atrue vertical line. Thewedge-plate 7 carries one or more bolts 8, that extend through suitableopenings formed in the frame and are threaded for the reception of nuts9, that may be adjusted to any desired extent in order to draw up on theWedge and elevate the cross-head. Inasmuch as the movement of thecombined guide and wear plate 5 is in atrue vertical line, the crossheadis allowed to operate without difficulty, even when the wear on theplate is such as to form ridges or walls at the opposite limits ofmovement of the cross-head.

In order to indicate the positions of the piston and rod with respect tothe cylinder, there is employed an improved indicator 10, that is boltedto the cylinder-head and extends over and down to a point slightly aboveor in contact with the upper portion of the piston-rod, but is arrangedin such manner as to prevent any perceptible wear on either theindicator or the rod from frictional contact with each other.

After the engine has been running for a considerable length of time thewear on the lower faces of the cross-heads and the upper faces of theplates 5 will be such as to lower the position of the rod and leave aslight space between the indicator and the rod. This immediatelyindicates that the friction between the piston and the inner wall of thecylinder is increasing, and the engineer by turning the nuts 9 can drawup the wedgeplates 7 and elevate the cross-heads until the rod hasassumed its proper position with respect to the indicator.

With an engine constructed in the manner described it is possible tosupport the piston within the cylinder without any appreciable wearbetween the two, and inasmuch as all of the wearing parts are outsidethe cylinder the necessary adjustment may be accomplished withoutstopping the engine.

It will of course be understood that the invention, while described asprincipally intended for use in connection With gas-engines, may be alsoemployed in connection with engines using any fluid medium for powerpurposes.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In engineconstruction, a cylinder, a piston, a piston-rod secured to the pistonand projecting beyond both ends of the cylinder, crossheads secured tothe opposite ends of the piston-rod, wear-plates forming continuoussupports for the whole stroke of the cross-heads,

stationary supports arranged below the Wearplates and provided withinclined upper surfaces, wedge-plates interposed between the supportsand the lower surfaces of the wearplates and extending for approximatelythe length of the stroke, means arranged at the ends of the wedge-platesfor effecting longitudinal adjustment thereof, substantially asspecified.

2. In engine construction, a cylinder, a piston, a piston-rod projectingfrom both ends of the cylinder, cross-heads secured to the rod,adjustable wear-plates on which said crossheads are supported, and anindicator carried by the head of the cylinder and arranged acb jacent tothe piston-rod.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixedmy signaturein the presence of two Witnesses.

CHARLES W. BENN.

Witnesses:

EARL BROWNE, H. F. TWINING.

